Footprints in the Sand (Leona Lewis song)

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" Footprints in Sand " is a song recorded by British singer Leona Lewis for her debut studio album Spirit (i) (2007). It was written by Simon Cowell, David Kreuger, Per Magnusson, Richard Page, and produced by Steve Mac. The song was digitally released as Lewis's third single on March 9, 2008 in the UK. Sony BMG and Syco Music launched it as a double A-side with "Better in Time", and "You Bring Me Down" as a B-side.

This is an R & amp; B and pop songs composed with a tempo of sixty beats per minute. It was written within a period of one day at Page's home in Malibu, California, with Cowell giving an idea to base it on Christian poetry "Footprints". This single music video was filmed by British director Sophie Muller in Johannesburg, South Africa. This video depicts social problems within the city, but ends with a message of hope. "Footprints in the Sand" became the official theme of the 2008 version of Sport Relief's two-year program, by the BBC.

The song received positive reviews from music critics, some of whom recorded the Gospel voice and Lewis's vocals as compared to R & B America, Mariah Carey. Footprints in the Sand was mapped as separate singles in Irish, British and European Hot 100 Singles, while double A-side appeared in Germany and Switzerland, and was certified silver in Britain by British Phonographic Industry (BPI), in 2008. On the same year, Lewis performed the song for the first time in the UK directly on the Dancing on Ice television program. In 2009, the song was covered by Lucie Jones, a contestant of The X Factor , and by Julia Star of the Swiss Die grÃÆ'¶ssten Schweizer Talente program.

Video Footprints in the Sand (Leona Lewis song)

Production and composition

"Footprints in Sand" was written by Simon Cowell, David Kreuger, Per Magnusson and Richard Page, while production was led by Steve Mac. It was recorded in 2007 at Rokstone Studios in London, England. Cowell initially came up with the idea to base a song around the Christian poem "Footprints", and suggested it to Kreuger and Magnusson. They held a session scheduled at Page's home in Malibu, California and finished the song the next day. Cowell gets a songwriting credit to get the idea. In an interview with HitQuarters, Magnusson said they thought the song would be a good idea for Irish boy band Westlife, but it was offered to British singer Leona Lewis instead. When Cowell mentions the concept of a song for Lewis, he agrees that it can be "very interesting". Regarding the song, Lewis commented: "At first this is poetry, it's so inspiring that we put it in a song I think it's very touching, with very emotional lyrics and I love singing this song"; and adds that the poem "about standing by someone and being there for the people who need your help."

"Footprints in the Sand" was included in Lewis Spirit's studio debut album, which was released in 2007 by Syco and J Records. This song has a duration of 4: 9 and is compiled using the general time in the key A ? with a larghetto tempo of sixty beats per minute; Lewis's vocals stretch from low tone E ? ₃ to high notes G ? ₅ . The song follows the A sequence? ₅ -A ? ₅ /B ? -Fm ₇ -E ? in the verses and A ? -B ? -B ? m-Fm-G ? -D ? in the chorus as the chord. It combines four instruments: keyboard instruments (piano, organ and synthesizer), guitar, bass and drums, and includes a choral performance created by The Tuff Session Singers. It combines elements of R & amp; B and pop music genres, and, according to music critics, contains the production of the gospel performed by the choir and the feature of "drum collision".

Maps Footprints in the Sand (Leona Lewis song)

Release and promotion

On January 29, 2008, Lewis announced on his website that "Footprints in the Sand", along with "Better in Time", will be released as a double A-side. The single was released with the song "You Bring Me Down" as B-side, and was released in the UK as a digital download on March 9, 2008, and a physical release the next day, with proceedings going to charities. The song is remixed for the single release ("Single Mix"), which, unlike the original version, starts with Lewis's voice only, and music begins after he does the first stanza - the album version of "Footprints in the Sand" begins with a piano tune before he begins singing lyrics -, and ending at 3:58 am.

"Footprints in the Sand" became the official song of the Sport Relief charity, a biennial charity organized by Comic Relief and BBC Sport, for their 2008 broadcasting. In her performance, Lewis sings the song to the Sports Relief show. Also, there are musicians who play violas, violins, and pianos, and The Tuff Session Singers perform choruses. While he sings, the image of "sadness and despair" is shown to the public. But, when the Tufts Session Singer started, the third choir, the pictures became the image of "happiness". As part of the promotion, Lewis performed the song live on British television program Dancing on Ice on March 9, 2008; the song accompanied Torvill and Dean's ice dance routines. In 2013, Lewis added the song to his Glassheart Tour setlist.

Music video

The accompanying music video was filmed in Johannesburg, South Africa, and directed by British director Sophie Muller back-to-back with a video for "Better in Time". It aired on Lewis' official website and the BBC Radio 1 website on February 27, 2008. The video begins with the message "Working to change lives around the world, to support Sport Relief". Then, it connects Lewis's performance in front of a wall and a gray screen: a picture of a child walking on a landfill site, a cemetery, a child lying on the street, and a child sitting on a traffic island. When the first choir began, the video continued to show scenes of poverty and AIDS issues in the country. While the second verse goes, images of malnourished people appear. As the second chorus and bridge passed, people were still crying at the scene. But while The Tuff Session Singers started singing the third chorus, the video began showing images of children playing football associations and cricket. The video ends with the children smiling as Lewis sings the song. It was released on the US iTunes Store on February 3, 2009.

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Reception

Critical response

After the release of Spirit , "Footprints in the Sand" received generally positive reviews by music critics, with some comparing Lewis's performance with other singers like Mariah Carey and Christina Aguilera. In his review of the album, Chris Elwell-Sutton from the Evening Standard commented that the song would be perfect as a "theme for Disney movies". While reviewing Spirit, Chad Grischow of IGN Music describes "Footprints in the Sand", along with "Here I Am", as "ballad sleep". Lyndsey Winship, a reviewer from BBC Music, notes that the song "is a piano warbler that brings Leona's voice to the forefront".

Sarah-Louise James of the Daily Star commented that it contains some elements of Westlife, and that would be perfect for the soundtrack of girl movies. The reviewer for the African news website iafrica.com described the song as "a stunning Mariah-style [...] ballad style [...] that utilizes Lewis's vocal range [s] and sounds indecent like Carey in Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine calls it "drippy", and adds that with Lewis's "Footprints" will receive a comparison for Carey.The Digital Spy reviewer gives the same opinion about "Footprints in the Sand." Nick Levine in his review of the album called the song "histrionic ending" of Spirit, and added that it "seems embarrassing to review Mariah Carey's masterpiece work 'Anytime You Need a Friend'" After being released as a single Alex Fletcher claims to have "some kind of silly outro even Mariah Carey might consider over-the-top "and that the lyrics" will make your grandmother cry ".

Performance chart

"Footprints in Sand" mapped in Europe, reaching seventy-three in the European Hot 100 Singles. In November 2007, the song debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number sixty-five, staying on the chart for the next week. On March 15, 2008, the single went back to number sixty-three. "Footprint in Sand" claims its top position next week at number twenty-five, stays on the chart for eleven weeks. At the Irish Singles Ladder, the song debuted and peaked at number fifty; while on the Swiss Singles Chart, it debuted on November 15, 2009 at thirty-five, and it stayed there three weeks.

The double A-side "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand" debuted at number seventy-four on the UK Singles Chart on March 1, 2008. After selling 40,476 copies it peaked at number two on March 22, 2008, the same week "Footprints in the Sand" debuted in the top 40. It was Lewis's third single to reach the top five in England. It was certified as silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) on January 16, 2009. The single debuted on the German Singles Chart on June 16, 2008 at number five, and reached its peak position, at number two, on July 28, 2008. It also culminated in European Hot 100 at number eight.

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Covers and is used in popular culture

Welsh singer Lucie Jones sings "Footprints in the Sand" on the English singing competition program The X Factor . He did that at the first show of the sixth edition (2009) Jones received generally positive reviews by his performance, but Cowell criticized his voice for not achieving his highest tone at the end of the song. Swiss singer Julia Star, a participant of Die grÃÆ'¶ssten Schweizer Talente , who is part of Got Talent's global franchise, covered the song in 2009. In 2011, Britain FourNurses easy listening group includes songs on their album Guiding You . On June 1, 2013, Hungary Attraction's shadow theater group used "Footprints in the Sand" during their live semifinal show at Britain's Got Talent .

In 2015 wildlife expert Bindi Irwin dances contemporary free style for the song in the 21st season finals of Dancing with the Stars .

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Track list and format

single CD (Syco), single CD (RCA) and single Swiss CD

1. "Better in Time" (Single Mix) - 3:55
2. "Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) - 3:58

Single German premium

1. "Better in Time" (Single Mix) - 3:55
2. "Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) - 3:58
3. "Bleeding Love" (Moto Blanco Remix Radio Edit) - 3:40
4. "Better in Time" (Video) - 3:58

Sony single; Swiss maxi single

1. "Better in Time" (Single Mix) - 3:55
2. "Footprints in the Sand" (Single Mix) - 3:58
3. "Bleeding Love" (Moto Blanco Remix Radio Edit) - 3:40
UK UK Relief CD single
1. "Better in Time" - 3:55
2. "Footprints in the Sand" - 4:09
3. "You Bring Me Down" - 3:54



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Credit and personnel




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Diagram




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Releasing history




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References




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External links

• Music videos on YouTube
• Lyrics on Leona Lewis Official Website

Source of the article : Wikipedia